No Such Thing As Friends
by FloatingAmoeba
Summary: Post-ep "Caught On Tape". Tony finds out the Kate's dog ate from his baseball cap. Kate challenges his theory that men and women can't be 'just friends' without sleeping together. What I wanted to happen after the episode. TATE.


**A/N **Don't you wanna know what happened after the screen went black? I thought it up in the bath (not the shower!), so please forgive any bad writing.

Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS or anything to do with NCIS.

* * *

The doorbell rang. Kate looked up in surprise, and replaced her mug on the counter. The bell rang again.

"Alright, alright, I'm coming," she muttered.

Pulling the door open, she blinked in surprise.

"Your dog ate from my cap," Tony said angrily as Kate opened the door widely. She raised her eyebrows challengingly.

"Hey, what's up, Tony? You seem tense."

Her partner pushed his way into her apartment. Kate rolled her eyes, and shut the door.

"Your dog ate from my cap," he repeated slowly. Kate shrugged.

"She was hungry."

Tony made a noise of frustration.

"See? This is why men and women can't be friends!" he snapped. Kate glared at him.

"Why's that, DiNozzo?"

"Because you're all so goddamn annoying!"

"Maybe it's just you, DiNozzo? Maybe that's why you're not married- because you're such a pig!"

"Guys don't want to marry you because after one date, they've already had enough of you!" he retorted. Kate scoffed.

"You think that up all by yourself?"

Tony narrowed his eyes.

"That was my favourite cap!" She glared back at him. A tense silence stretched between them. They stood on opposite sides of Kate's living room, arms folded, each breathing heavily. Somewhere deep down inside of her, Kate felt guilt begin to stir.

She sighed.

"Look, I'm sorry about your cap. I'll…buy you another one." Tony glared at her.

"That one was special!" he pouted.

"DiNozzo, it was a ball cap."

"BUT THAT ONE WAS SPECIAL!"

The silence returned, and the partners narrowed their eyes at each other.

"I think we should test the theory," Kate said suddenly. The first flickers of uncertainty crossed Tony's face. _The theory where I said…Oh._

"You want to…?" Kate shrugged.

"Why not? You said that men and women couldn't be friends, because the man always wants to sleep with the woman, unless she's seriously disfigured."

"Yeah, but…"

"I'm a woman, you're a man. We're friends. I'm not seriously disfigured." _No shit, Kate,_ Tony thought. Making a decision, he moved closer, pressing his lips down on his partner's. She blinked. _I take it that's a 'Good idea, Kate'._

"DiNozzo. If we do…you know…it doesn't mean anything, OK?"

Tony smirked.

"Yeah, I got it. No strings. Purely experimental. And it's not as if we actually want to, you know…" Kate tried not to blush, knowing that she was dangerously close to revealing her true feelings. She took on an air of confidence.

"No way, DiNozzo."

Before she could do anything, Tony was kissing her again. _Holy crap, DiNozzo! I take everything I ever said about you back, as long as you keep kissing me like that! _Kate allowed her eyes to close, wrapping her arms around his neck. She opened her mouth, allowing their tongues to meet.

Tony groaned as Kate pressed herself against him. _My God, Kate. You're killing me here! You're making it hard not to mean anything!_

"Remember…it's only research…" she said breathlessly, although her comment didn't hold much conviction. Tony nodded, moving his lips down to her neck.

"It doesn't…mean anything," he replied, knowing it was a lie as soon as the words left his mouth.

Feeling Tony's 'response' against her leg, Kate smirked, and holding onto his shirt collar, dragged him into the bedroom. Tony pulled his lips away from Kate's long enough to grin down at her.

"You know you were talking to your friend on the phone? Was it a root vegetable?"

* * *

The next morning, Tony awoke to an empty bed. As the memories of last night came flooding back, he grinned. _I'm impressed, Agent Todd. _His entire body ached, making his grin grow. _Oh yeah, definitely impressed. _Sitting up, he saw a note on the side.

**_Had something to do. Meet you there? Kate x_**

**_P.S Did it mean anything?_**

He felt a smile tug at his lips. _She signed it with a kiss. How am I supposed to tell Kate that last night was…amazing? She's not interested in me. It was 'purely experimental'. Anyway, even if it did mean something, how the hell can I ask her out? _Tony sighed, and quickly gathered his things together, savouring the smell of Kate that was lingering on his shirt. _Goddamn perfume. I swear she's trying to kill me._

* * *

Twenty minutes later, after driving home to change, Tony walked into the NCIS bullpen. He stopped in front of his desk. A ball cap, identical to the one Kate's dog had eaten from, sat on the pile of folders. He looked around for Kate. Not seeing her in the room, he turned his attention back to the gift. He pulled out a small white card.

_**It meant something.**_

Tony grinned, his heart exploding at the three simple words. He heard familiar footsteps behind him, and turned. Kate stopped suddenly, her eyes flicking between his face, and the note in his hand. _CRAP! I knew I shouldn't have come back up here! _she thought frantically.

"Hey," he said happily.

"Hi," she replied quickly, hurrying over to her desk. The male agent followed her over, standing behind her.

"Kate?" She glanced up at him nervously.

"Yes?"

"About that theory. I think more research needs to be conducted." Kate breathed a sigh of relief, a smile lighting up her face.

"I agree. I think it needs dinner at your place, wine, music. The whole thing." Tony smirked, and nodded, brushing a lock of hair from her face.

"OK. But I was thinking more along the lines of root vegetables…"

* * *

Maybe a bit OOC, but I **did** already apologize. If you liked it, please review! Reviews just make me feel all warm and fuzzy!


End file.
